We've all been there, wrapped up in a family tree line which seems to be going nowhere - the ubiquitous brick wall. The excitement of the chase, fueled by months or years of discoveries within Internet message posts and dusty courthouse files, starts to wear off as the leads begin to dwindle and the discoveries come to a standstill. We begin to feel like we've come to the end of the line and despair of ever hurdling the genealogical brick wall.

Instead of giving up in despair, take a deep breath and prepare yourself to start over. One of the best ways to overcome the stubbornness of a brick wall is to go back to step one – review your information. You are now older and wiser, have probably found new clues and records, and have also improved your power of evaluation. You need to go back to your files and update your timeline. Make sure that all of your new puzzle pieces have been entered. Look for things that you may have overlooked the first time, and the second. Even if you have already searched for a record with no success, you may now know of a new place to search or you may have neglected to search for common surname variations on the first pass. Genealogy is just another type of puzzle. If the pieces don’t fit one way, then try another. It is true that all of the answers may never be found, but I am sure there is something out there you have yet to discover.